1 – Jack White
There’s nothing else I can do than to bow down to this man. I grew up listening to The White Stripes, but I hadn’t paid too much attention to Jack White since those days (Sorry, man). But after seeing him perform right from the pit, I have newfound respect and love for him. Not only was his whole stage setup (black, white, and blue!) iconic, I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping every time he riffed his guitar; nonetheless, with his eyes closed for the majority of the time. It was an honor and a joy to experience the musical genius perform at Fuji Rock!

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2 – Japanese Breakfast
I’ve been waiting to see Michelle Zauner perform in person for so long, and I sure wasn’t disappointed. I’ve followed Japanese Breakfast since the beginning, mostly drawn by the band name and shocked to find out that she wasn’t Japanese, but Korean American instead. What’s race got to do with it? Well, as a fellow mixed-race Asian-American, she represents someone like myself, doing something she loves and being an incredible creator. She recently added “author” to her many titles and boy, did her novel “Crying in H Mart” really hit a note with me. So again, just being in the same space as her was a dream of mine, and to see/hear her live on top of that was fantastic. The ultimate peak was when the band played their Fleetwood Mac cover of “Dreams”. I got goosebumps!

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3 – Global metal bands
There’s something abut coming to Fuji Rock that makes me feel like I’m cool enough for heavy metal. Last year, I covered Japanese metal band, SiM and was hooked. So this year, I made sure to check out both Bloodywood from India and The Hu from Mongolia. Not only was it awesome to support bands that came to the festival from so far away, it was seriously spectacular to watch them perform this genre of music while incorporating sounds from their home countries.

BLOODYWOOD REPORT
THE HU REPORT

4 – Return of Thursday and evening fun
It’s so good to have Fuji Rock’s old traditions back. Last year, we barely had much of a celebration on Thursday night besides the fireworks. But this year, we had the Bon Odori as well as the special guest artists performing at the Red Marquee. People flocked to Oasis for some food and fun, and I could see many happy faces who were probably reunited at and with Fuji Rock for the first time in three years. While music stopped at midnight last year (sigh), this year, it went long into the night, which have always been some of my best memories of Fuji Rock, so I’m glad the late-night fun was back again. Let’s *hope* that Crystal Palace will be back by next year!

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5 – New food and drink options
Speaking of food, there were quite a few new vendors this year. While it’s always great to come back to the same delicious stalls, I loved being able to try new dishes. I especially loved the all-vegan food stall, Righteous Burger. The vendors themselves were so excited to be there, too! There were new drink stalls, like Iichiko sake and the Highball bar. They even served up a special “Fuji Rock Highball” which was rimmed with salt and kinako (roasted soybean flour) that I’m still drooling over now!

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Hopes for Next Year
1. Water re-fill stations: In an effort to look out for festival goers and Fuji Rock’s value in sustainability, I really hope to see water re-fill stations in the future. This year was especially *HOT* and I had to witness some folks struggling from heatstroke. The last thing we want is for people to have to cut their weekend short due to the lack of water supply at the festival. Fuji Rock branded steel water bottles and refill stations all around the grounds? Yes please!

2. Merch tent expansion and education for bringing kids to music festivals: How do these two topics go hand in hand, you say? I’ve noticed that not enough young children were wearing protective noise-canceling ear muffs. I even saw a girl suffering because her ears hurt. At western festivals, ear muffs for kids is a must, and I hope to see Fuji Rock continue to be an advocate for safe and ethical festival fun for the whole family. If we had merch tents in more than one spot (i.e. in front of the main entrance), not only would there be less queueing, families would be able to buy the Fuji Rock branded ear muffs no matter where they are inside the grounds.

1- xiexie
This small Rookie a Go-Go band totally took me by surprise! I liked what I had heard of their stuff on Spotify but there’s some sort of magic that comes with live music. It was so fun to dance with the band members and the smaller stage just made for such an enjoyable experience.
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2 – Snail Mail
If you read my intro post, you’ve seen that I was most looking forward to Snail Mail’s set. And boy, did it deliver! I’ve been a fan of Lindsey Jordan’s work for years now and hearing Pristine live was everything 2018 Mika could have hoped for. I was also secretly hoping she would open with Valentine, so when she did I was PUMPED!
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3 – Asakura Saya
Asakura Saya was too dang cute. Her energy was perfectly matched with the Gypsy Avalon stage and the whole performance just brought a smile to my face. Her singing voice was so uniquely beautiful too!
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4 – Kaho Nakamura
It’s difficult to explain how amazing this set was. I was seriously blown away by Nakamura’s talent! She’s a fantastic performer who clearly put a lot of love and care into this festival. Calling her just a singer would be selling her far too short.
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5 – Dragondola / Day Dreaming
I loved getting to ride the Dragondola for all of its amazing views and getting a ropeway car to yourself is kind of awesome in the middle of a crowded festival. The Day Dreaming stage was relaxing, breezy and beautiful! Super worth it to go if you can swing it.
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Hopes for Next Year
I would love to see some of the artists that had to cancel at next year’s festival! Namely artists like YOASOBI, Say Sue Me and 八木海莉 were all on my festival bucket list but fate had other plans this year.

Thank you Fuji Rock 2022 for an unforgettable weekend! Until next time!

The star of her show was the vocals. She began the set acappella using her unique singing style that combined modern techniques with old time Japanese style. Namely her strong vibrato gave her songs a very emotional feel to them. Another stylistic choice she made was the transition from her chest to her head voice. Her break was very prominent, yet very clean. The notes don’t falter at all. She also made great use of dynamic variability. It was really beautiful how she created a push and pull with every phrase she sang.

Audience members greatly enjoyed the dance demo she gave for one of the songs of her set! Truly just like your favorite teacher, she thoroughly showed us the catchy moves with a beaming smile on her face. Everyone had a great time dancing along and it was a very cute moment.

In general her music has a warm feeling about it with themes of home and love. One song talks about how her hometown and the city she currently lives in (Tokyo) are all under the same great blue sky. To an audience full of people who no doubt live and work in bustling cities, her message was really impactful.

Her most recent album was released with the goal of making listeners feel happy to be alive. People like her certainly make the world seem brighter and more inviting.

Originally formed in 1968, but for lack of outlets to perform they each went their separate musical ways without releasing any of their material. Now they are back together and ready to give us what we missed out on back then.

After a ballsy 5 minute warmup/sound check after ‘officially’ taking to the stage, SKYE broke into a super bluesy Less is More and showed the crowd that if they want you to wait for them to get ready, you can wait. Each member of the band had that casual but amazing skill that makes playing instruments virtuosically look so easy you are tempted to think ‘I can do that’. But you can’t. And neither can I. They can, though.

The guitar soloing especially from mid-set songs like Sagire Chigiregumo and Hana Ichimonmei showed a kind of guitar sensibility and sound that few but the veterans have, an ineffably classic feeling paired with a confident lack of showiness. Perfect guitar work.
The set itself meandered through bluesy rock and bluesy ballads, many led by a wonderfully world weary touch of the keys. Good bar music, hopeful but darkly steeped in enough blues to encase the songs in melancholic amber.

Late in the set they pulled out a nicely up-tempo and slightly country-fried version of the classic Jackson, and showed that they can handle even a difficult cover like that on with ease. With the help, of course, of their killer brass section, which really doesn’t hurt.
When all these elements are brought together you are left with a band that is doing what they very apparently love, playing music with their great friends who happen to all be fantastic and legendary musicians. The only regret is that they didn’t have any of their frequently guest collaborators like Okuda Tamio or Yuming join them. But even without them SKYE brought the rock and roll festival vibes, setting the bar for the rest of the weekend sky high.